There is almost universal agreement that nuclear waste presents a global problem of immense proportions. Nevertheless, despite this awareness, the exact extent and possible ramifications of the problem are still somewhat undefined and are not fully appreciated by the public. All agree, however, that something must be done. The problem is further complicated by the fact that, heretofore, there has been no completely acceptable solution for the disposal of nuclear waste. Stated differently, the costs and the risks involved are generally unacceptable. Using conventional technology, the costs for remediation of the nuclear waste in this country alone is astronomical.
At the present time, nuclear waste is being temporarily stored in hundreds, and possibly thousands, of containers at various sites throughout the world. The total bulk of this nuclear waste is easily appreciated when it is realized that one container alone may hold as much as one million gallons of nuclear waste. Clearly, the volume of nuclear waste which requires special disposal is enormous. The problem is further complicated by the fact that a significant portion of the nuclear waste is classified as high level waste which requires special handling and extraordinary safeguards.
One form of disposal for nuclear waste which has gained some degree of acceptance in the nuclear waste remediation community involves a process known as vitrification, or glassification. In a vitrification process, the nuclear waste is absorbed and incorporated into glass for subsequent disposal. Present day vitrification techniques, however, face at least two significant difficulties. Most importantly, under present practice there is no effective way to differentiate between high level waste, which requires special handling, and low level waste which can be disposed of in a more conventional manner. Consequently, whenever high level waste is involved, the entire volume of nuclear waste, including both high level and low level waste, is treated the same way. As indicated above, the total volume of this waste is significant. Second, due to the large volume of waste that must be handled as high level waste, treatment and disposal may require decades to accomplish.
It happens that of the entire volume of nuclear waste, only about 0.001% are the radionuclides which make the waste radioactive. As recognized by the present invention, if the radionuclides can somehow be segregated from the non-radioactive ingredients of the nuclear waste, the handling and disposal of the radioactive components could be greatly simplified.
In light of the above it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for nuclear waste remediation which separates and segregates the radionuclides from the non-radioactive elements in the waste. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for nuclear waste remediation which effectively vitrifies high concentrations of radionuclides for subsequent disposal. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for nuclear waste remediation which uses an in-line continuous process that requires minimal material manipulation. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for nuclear waste remediation which is relatively easy to manufacture, simple to use and comparatively cost effective.